I, Vampire #3Review

Share.

Andrew makes friends on his way to a showdown.

By Poet Mase

A horror book is really nothing without the right look. Andrea Sorrentino has built up a high-contrast style for this title that oozes grim tension, and I, Vampire #3 carries it well. By lowering the resolution of the facial features of the book's characters, Sorrentino emphasizes the topography of penitence and fury primarily through artistically posed figures. The result is a clever method of obscuring the story to a degree -- a crucial feature of any horror film -- while simultaneously reflecting the seething pace of the story. In the book's opening pages, this method also subtly conveys the sense that the situation has already spun out of control, as readers are held at arm's length by empty, blood-spattered environments and impersonal images of poorly resolved figures on television screens.

The use of tight zooms and low camera angles later in the book reverse this effect, placing the reader directly in the action. Further, by including the Batman symbol, almost a pop culture reference within the story itself, during an expositional moment in the story, the creators quietly slip visual language into the story that readers would expect to see in real life rather than as an explicit reference in a comic book. In coming so close to breaking the fourth wall without drawing undo attention to their technique, Sorrentino and writer Joshua Hale Fialkov close the last door to the movie theater, engulfing the reader in their story completely.

Not to be outdone, Fialkov makes a number of important strides in this story. The introduction of new characters serves to develop Andrew's character, to add pertinent backstory, and to create new interpersonal dynamics, all while adding depth to the world that he has created. The themes of redemption and sacrifice are not novel on their own, but the addition of these new characters casts Andrew's predicament in a new light, especially as this book is told from Professor Troughton's perspective. Another appealing aspect of Fialkov's script is the sense of the protagonists "gearing up," which adds the key horror ingredient of anticipation.

Like seeing just a glimpse of Frank the Rabbit in Donnie Darko, the tone of horror stories are made or broken in the details. Sorrentino employs similar techniques in this issue to heighten the emotion of this book's key moments without intruding on Fialkov's plot. For his part, the way in which Fialkov disorders the issue's temporal progression points up the generally creepy tone of the book and inevitability is gentle enough to leave the hope represented by Andrew and his growing cohort believable. In their skilled hands, this issue is another strong entry in a growing portfolio of excellent stories.